I hear artists cry broke all the time. I hear them complain about not being able to make any money, that they don’t have any clients, and that nobody will buy their work.

Here’s the problem with that.

They simultaneously refuse to spend the minimal amount of time learning how to market themselves, sell their products, build a brand, balance a budget, develop cash flow positive strategies, and implement long term planning.

It’s baffling. This is such a fatal flaw in the world of artists.

It really is our hubris. You would never start a McDonald’s without taking a course on business. You would never found a tech company without forming a corporation around it. You would never start a product without developing a strong brand.

Yet we creatives think we are above that. We think we are above learning business. “I just want to create.”

That’s the mantra.

I hear it all the time. Guess what, the guy who fixes cars just wants to fix cars. The guy that builds shelves just wants to build stuff. The guy that sells phones just wants to sell phones.

Yet, in order to own a business they are constantly pulled from those chores we want to do in order to keep our business running.

You are not alone in wanting to create. All businesses just want to do the thing they love.

Creatives are alone in not learning how business works. That is our failing.

Unfortunately, that’s a you problem, and you need to get over yourself. You don’t have to be poor and broke. It doesn’t have to be our credo.

Because you can do this. You can make money. There are tried and true things you can do to make a living doing the thing you love.

It’s all your choice.

Russell Nohelty is a publisher, writer, and consultant. He’s screamed into the void about creatives learning business for years, and will do it for as long as he’s able. Check out his publishing company www.wannabepress.com and his podcast The Business of Art.